CHAPTER DCLIII.

AN ACT FOR OPENING AND BETTER AMENDING AND KEEPING IN REPAIR THE PUBLIC ROADS AND HIGHWAYS WITHIN THIS PROVINCE.

Whereas an act of general assembly of this province, entitled "An act for opening and better amending and keeping in repair the public roads and highways within this province," 1 passed in the fifth year of His present Majesty's reign, is nearly expired:

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And whereas the laws for keeping in repair the roads and highways that would thereupon come in force again have been found burdensome and unequal upon many of the inhabitants of this province and insufficient to answer the good purposes thereby intended, inasmuch as no provision is made for supplying the overseers and inhabitants working thereon with timber and other materials necessary for making effectual repairs on the said roads:

For remedying whereof:

[Section I.] Be it enacted by the Honorable Richard Penn, Esquire, Lieutenant-Governor under the Honorable Thomas Penn and John Penn, Esquires, true and absolute Proprietaries of the Province of Pennsylvania, by and with the advice and consent of the representatives of the freemen of the said Province in General Assembly met, and by the authority of the same, That the freeholders and others qualified to choose members of assembly of every township shall meet together on the third Saturday in the month of March yearly and every year during the continuance of this act, and then and there by tickets in writing between the hours of three and six in the afternoon choose one or two discreet and reputable freeholders or inhabitants within their respective townships to be supervisors of the highways, which said supervisors when chosen and returned in writing under the hands of the supervisors of the public roads of the respective townships into the office of the clerk of the court of 1 Passed May 18, 1765, Chapter 526.

quarter sessions of the respective counties, which they are hereby enjoined to do on or before the twenty-fifth day of March yearly, shall be the supervisors of the public roads and highways for the ensuing year, and if any supervisor or supervisors so elected or otherwise appointed by virtue of this act shall refuse or neglect to take upon him or themselves the said office, for every such refusal or neglect he or they shall forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding ten pounds, to be applied towards amending and repairing the said roads.

[Section II.] And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the supervisors of the public roads and highways of the respective townships within the several counties of this province shall at least five days before the third Saturday in March yearly and every year during the continuance of this act give public notice in writing by affixing the same in the most public places in their respective townships of the place where the inhabitants and freeholders of the several townships shall meet to elect supervisors for each and every of the said townships, according to the directions of this act, which place so appointed for the said election shall be as near the centre of the respective townships as conveniently may be.

[Section III.] And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That it shall and may be lawful for the supervisors of the public roads and highways within the respective townships of this province lawfully chosen to make or lay a rate or rates in any one year not exceeding nine pence in the pound on the clear yearly value of all iron works, mills, houses, lands and other the real as well as personal estates within their respective townships (tracts of land unlocated, unseated or unimproved and proprietary quit-rents only excepted), to be employed for the opening, clearing, amending and repairing the several public roads and highways within their respective townships in such manner as by this act is directed and appointed.

Provided nevertheless, That the said rate or assessment shall be laid according to the best of their skill and judgment and as near as may be agreeable to the then last county assessment, in pursuance of the act, entitled "An act for raising county rates

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and levies, having due regard to every man's estate within the affection to any person whomsoever.

Provided also, That single men shall not be chargeable by the head in such assessment, as in the case of county rates and levies.

And whereas divers of the public roads within this province are laid out on the division line of two townships and frequent disputes have arisen between the supervisors of the said townships respecting the repairing of the said roads, whereby they often remain unrepaired:

For remedy whereof:

[Section IV.] Be it enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said roads shall be repaired at the equal and joint expense of the said townships, and in case the supervisor or supervisors of one of the said townships shall neglect or refuse to join with the supervisor or supervisors of the other township, in opening, amending or repairing any such road or any public road which shall hereafter be laid out on such township line, such supervisor or supervisors so neglecting or refusing shall be liable to the same pains and penalties as if he or they had neglected or refused to open, amend or repair any public road within his or their respective township, and it shall and may be lawful for the supervisor or supervisors of the other township, and he or they are hereby required, to open, amend and repair the said roads and to charge the said supervisor or supervisors so refusing or neglecting with one moiety of the moneys expended on such roads, and to recover the same by action of debt, to be brought against such supervisor or supervisors so refusing or neglecting.

[Section V.] And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if any supervisor or supervisors of the public roads and highways so as aforesaid chosen shall refuse or neg lect to take upon him or themselves the said office, or shall die or remove out of the township for which he or they shall be chosen, or if the freeholders and inhabitants of any township shall neglect or refuse to elect or choose supervisors as is hereinbefore directed and appointed, or where any township shall 1 Passed March 20, 1724-5, Chapter 284.

have no supervisor residing in it, then and in every such case it shall and may be lawful to and for three or more justices of the peace of the respective counties, and they are hereby enjoined and required to appoint another supervisor or supervisors in the room and stead of every such supervisor or supervisors so refusing, dying or removing as aforesaid, and likewise to appoint supervisors for such townships as have neglected or refused to choose supervisors for their respective townships in the manner herein directed and appointed, which said supervisor or supervisors so appointed shall have the same powers and authorities and shall be liable to the same penalties as the supervisors so elected and chosen by each respective township in pursuance of the directions of this act, and that all and every such supervisor and supervisors elected or appointed as aforesaid shall have and receive for his or their trouble in collecting the several sums of money to be raised as aforesaid twelve pence in every pound by him or them collected, and four shillings per diem for each day he or they shall attend in overseeing, employing and directing the workmen upon the public roads and highways within their township.

[Section VI.] And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, and it is hereby declared, That where any supervisor or supervisors have been legally chosen or appointed by virtue of any law heretofore made for repairing the highways, they and each of them shall be deemed and taken as supervisors of the highways for the townships in which they reside, respectively, until the twenty-fifth day of March in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-two, as fully and amply to all intents and purposes as if they and each of them had been chosen or appointed by virtue of this act, and shall account in the same manner and under the same penalties as the supervisors of the highways to be chosen and appointed by virtue of this act are directed to account; and if any money shall have come to their or any of their hands and shall not have been expended before the said twenty-fifth day of March, the same shall be paid over into the hands of the supervisor of the township where it was assessed and raised, to be applied towards maintaining the highways in the said township.

[Section VII.] And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the said supervisors before they proceed to the collecting of the said rate shall procure the same to be allowed by at least two justices of the peace of the county wherein the said tax is laid, and if any person or persons so rated or assessed shall refuse to pay the sum or sums on him or them charged and shall not enter his or their appeal at the next general court of quarter sessions, that then it shall and may be lawful to and for the said supervisor or supervisors (having first obtained a warrant under the hand and seal of one justice of the peace of the county, who is hereby empowered and required to grant such warrant, to levy the same on the goods and chattels of the person or persons so refusing. And in case such person shall not within three days next after such distress made pay the sum or sums on him or her assessed, together with the charges of such distress, that then the said supervisor or supervisors may proceed to the sale of the goods distrained, rendering to the owner the overplus, if any, that shall remain on such sale, reasonable charges being first deducted.

Provided nevertheless, That if any person or persons shall find him, her or themselves aggrieved with such rate or assessment, it shall be lawful for the justices of the peace at their next general quarter sessions, upon the petition of the party, to take such order therein as to them shall be thought expedient, and the same shall conclude and bind all parties, and the supervisor or supervisors in case of such appeal shall forbear making distress until the same be determined in the quarter sessions in the manner hereinbefore directed and appointed.

[Section VIII.] And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the tenant or tenants or other persons residing on or having the care of lands of persons not residing in the county, his, her or their goods and chattels, shall be liable to be distrained in manner aforesaid for the payment of the said tax.

[Section IX.] And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That where any tenant shall before the passing this act have taken on a lease for one or more years any lands or tenements and shall pay the said rate hereby imposed on the said lands or tenements so leased, or shall have his or her goods and